Farmer Goes to Market Pavilion
at the 2009 NGA Annual Concept Show
February 3-6 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel - Las Vegas, Nevada

view the 2009
Annual Concept Show
floor map

Topic Area/Farmer Profile

Ken, his wife Mary and their son Brad, farm 4500 acres of no-till corn and soybeans in White Cloud, Kan. The McCauley’s have lived on Ken’s great-grandfather’s farm 36 years and not only produce crops but add value to those crops with investments in 3 ethanol plants, one that makes food, fuel and livestock feed and another that produces “industrial alcohol”. Ken recently became a member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee and is a committee member of Kansas promoting the National Biosecurity Agriculture Facility which is to be located at Kansas State University.

Craig Rowles is a partner and the general manager of Elite Pork Partnership, LLP – an 8,000 sow farrow-to-finish (birth to market) swine operation that produces 140,000 market hogs annually. Before joining Elite Pork, Craig practiced large animal veterinary medicine for 14 years. He is a member of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Association where he currently serves on the Environmental Issues Committee. Craig is also the past chairman of the Carroll County Board of Health. He and his wife Beth have three sons---Matthew, Brian & Johnny.

Liz Doornink was not born and raised on a farm but rather in New York City. While attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, she met her future husband Todd, a fourth generation dairy producer. Liz now resides in Baldwin, WI (35 miles east of St. Paul, MN) and operates JD Farms, a 1,500 milk cow operation with 2,400 acres of corn and alfalfa. The farm employs 52 people from various cultural backgrounds. Liz and Todd have three girls---Ann Aliese, Mikayla and Eva.

John Gillespie and his family run a beef feedlot and cash crop farm in the Waterloo Region of Ontario Canada. They grow soybeans, corn, wheat and alfalfa. John holds the Chair position for the Canadian Beef Information Centre. He currently sits as chair of the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council, a coalition of non-supply managed Ontario commodity organizations, which is involved in working with the federal and provincial governments in developing new business risk management programs under the Agricultural Policy Framework.

Anne Burkholder is the president of Will Feed, Inc. a cattle finishing operation with a 3,000 head capacity located in Cozad, NE. Ann graduated in 1997 cum laude from Dartmouth College. She is the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee for Beef Quality Assurance in the state of Nebraska. In 2008, Ann was recognized by the National Cattleman’s Beef Association as the Beef Quality Producer of the Year. She lives with her husband Matt and their three daughters---Ashley, Megan and Karyn.

Robert Metz and his wife Karen have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. They are a 6th generation family farm located in Northeast South Dakota. They manage 5,000+ acres of corn and soybeans. Robert has served as an Ag Advisor to the Chicago Board of Trade, is the current Chair of the Technical Committee for the National Biodiesel Board and is also a member of the International Oilseed Producers.

Tom and his wife Susie farm 1,170 acres of soybean, corn and wheat with Tom’s brother Randy and his nephew Kyle. In addition to their crop production, the Brown’s also own a farrow-to-finish (birth to market) pork operation that markets 12,000 hogs annually. Maken Bacon Farms Inc. is located in Morral OH. Tom and Susie have two daughters---Megan and Melissa.

Debbie Borg and her husband Kerry farm 1,000+ acres of corn, soybean, wheat and alfalfa plus, background beef cattle, raising them from approximately 400 – 800 pounds. The Borg family has been producing food for five generations (soon to be six!). They live in northeast Nebraska with their 3 children---Hannah, Heidi and Hunter. Debbie is a graduate of Colorado State University and is the current President of the Nebraska Soybean Association. Debbie will share with retailers how her operation has changed due to the adaptation of new technology.